First Halloween
by Nightingale N7
Summary: It's Commander Shepard's first time celebrating Halloween, and he wants to make sure everyone joins in on the festivities. Written for the MEFFW group and this month's drabble challenge. T for light language and mentions of drinking. Happy Halloween!


**A/N** **: I wrote this for the drabble challenge over on the Mass Effect Fanfiction Writers group on Facebook. It's that time of year, so y'all are gonna get Halloween stuff, as promised! Woo!**

 **Think Halloween + the Citadel party. That's pretty much what this is, with my usual characters. Hope you like it! Happy Halloween!**

* * *

"Y'know Tali, you should probably stop drinking."

The quarian swayed on her feet, giggling excitedly, and shook a helmeted head. Kaidan exchanged glances with Ashley, and the pair stifled their laughs. "I—"

Garrus came past before she could finish stuttering out whatever her drunken brain had come up with. He sat her down at the bar with the two humans, and then joined them. Cortez slid something down towards the turian that Kaidan only stopped to look at because it passed him. _It's green?_ he wondered, frowning as the glass went. He blinked, and then realized it was a more purplish color in the light. His stomach twisted at the sight of it as he recalled the memory of accidentally getting a turian drink.

"That looks nasty," Ashley commented, voicing his thoughts.

"Try it, 'Iron Constitution,'" Kaidan said.

Garrus' mandibles flared in his trademark grin and he offered the glass, but Ashley waved her hand. "I'd rather not wake up half-naked somewhere on the Citadel tomorrow, thanks."

"I could break out the ryncol," Cortez said.

Kaidan frowned a little. "Shepard has ryncol?"

"'Course I do," a voice interrupted. Kaidan didn't have to turn back around to see Shepard, let alone realize something was off. Just glancing to his left was enough; Ashley was looking at him like he was wearing Cerberus armor, and Garrus looked downright confused. Tali was already bent over the bar, probably passed out or close to it.

"What the hell are you wearing?" Garrus demanded.

"Oh, you don't know?" Shepard asked. "It's Halloween."

Kaidan swivelled around on his stool and busted out laughing. Masks. He was wearing a mask, and a stupid looking one at that. It was purple, but not the same glowing purple of Garrus' drink. It was darker, more violet than anything, and covered in plastic little beads, covered the upper half of his face. By the smirk he was wearing, Shepard was evidently proud of himself.

"Hang on," he said. "I have better ones."

While Shepard rifled around in his bag for something, probably more masks, Kaidan heard Garrus whisper, "What's Halloween?"

Ashley snorted and shrugged. "Something stupid. It's a human holiday, but we didn't celebrate it out in the colonies."

"Ash, why is it always you?" Kaidan asked. "First the whole Spider-Man thing, now Halloween..."

"Because I'm a buzzkill," she said proudly, leaning her elbows back against the lacquered surface. One of her hands went to Tali's shoulder and Kaidan unwittingly smiled; it was always good to see her treating their alien counterparts as friends.

"Alenko, heads up."

Instead of prodding her further, Kaidan shifted gazes back to Shepard, and caught the mask thrown to him. He flipped the thin piece of plastic over and smirked. "Now that's just mean, Commander."

Blue, yellow, red, a nice big 'S' painted on the front. Superman.

"Put it on, you pansy."

Kaidan huffed, but did as told. The elastic band around the back snapped off his hair with a soft thud. He turned to Ashley and smirked, and she rolled her eyes. "You've got to be joking."

Shepard laughed. "Nope," he said. "Cortez, your turn." Kaidan ducked when Shepard tossed another mask back at him. Batman. "You're gonna put one on, and you're gonna like it." He pulled out a third and Kaidan had to bite his tongue, hard, to keep from laughing. "And because I like you so much, Ash, you get my favorite."

Her lips pursed as Shepard reached behind her head to settle the mask on her face.

"Commander—"

"I've never celebrated Halloween before," he interrupted. "I want to, just in case we don't get the chance later. Humor me." Even with the red and blue mask covering her face, Kaidan could tell she was about to argue. She _always_ argued. "Man up. Kaidan's doing better than you for once."

The two exchanged glances again, confused this time.

"No arguing," Shepard said pointedly, giving the two of them as forceful a glare he could manage in that mask. "We're doing something stupid and silly for once because we can, and you're just going to have to like it."

Then he was gone, headed into the kitchen to track down anyone else who could get one of the masks on, shouting for Glyph to play "more festive music." When the drone had to ask what he meant, Shepard went on a rant about Halloween-type music, and someone, probably Wrex, groaned at the change of tone. Shepard's excited whoop was barely audible over the bass.

"What am I wearing?" Ashley asked, elbowing him.

Kaidan couldn't help grinning as he turned to the bar, reaching for his beer. "He did say it was his favorite. You remember that much, right?"

"I swear to God..."

"It's Spider-Man," Kaidan said. Ashley groaned and he chuckled, holding up his glass for a toast. "Happy Halloween."

"Happy Halloween," Ashley grumbled, clinking her glass against his.

" _Woah,_ Ashley!" Tali's voice. "When did you get so...so _blue_? I didn't know you were an asari!" The girl's three-fingered hand practically smacked Ashley in the face, prodding and poking, pulling until the superhero mask snapped off her skin. Tali looked past Ashley, though, straight to him. " _Kaidan_!"

His mask had more blue than Ashley's. _His_ mask _was_ blue.

"Asari aren't men!"

The following giggle told him he was going to be in for a long night.


End file.
